Behold the Resurrection

Christmas Story Reading for this Week

This week’s Christmas story comes from the Gospel of John. As in Mark, John does not describe the night of Christ’s birth for us nor does he tell of the angelic visitations, the journey of the shepherds, nor the journey of the Magi. What John does do, however, is draws a clear and unmistakable link between God and Christ. In John 20:30–31, John writes the purpose for his gospel record in this way: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Although not fully expressed until close to the very end of John’s Gospel this reasoning is front and center in the opening verses of John 1 and although this is, once again, not a traditional Christmas Story, in many ways this has become my favorite Christmas Story for the clear way in which John delivers this truth regarding the identity and authority of the Christ.

John 1:1–18 LSB

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. There was a man having been sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has been ahead of me, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Let us pray

Pastoral Prayer

Introduction

As we have discussed over the last few weeks Christmas is a season for celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a time where we remember the peace, love, hope, and joy that entered the world on that fateful night in Bethlehem. This year as we have prepared ourselves for this season we have taken somewhat of a different approach. Instead of focusing solely on that night, we have been looking at different encounters with this Word made flesh. We began our journey with Simeon and his encounter with the Christ child just days after his birth. As we looked at that particular encounter we noted that Simeon saw the very salvation of God when he beheld Jesus.

The second week we worked through a passage that of scripture that described a much different encounter. This encounter was between Jesus and Nicodemus. As we discussed this particular passage gave us one of the most famous passages and one of the most famous statements in all of Christianity. John 3:16, without a doubt is the most recognizable verse, not just in Christianity, but in the world. And then there is the phrase of Jesus, “You must be born again”, which has become almost something of a battle cry for preachers and evangelist, rightly so, but too often this battle cry is calling on you to do make this happen, which as we saw in the third chapter of John is not something that we are capable of doing, but it is wholly a work of God through the Holy Spirit that regenerates or quickens us to live, enabling us to believe. This regeneration is what Jesus is referring to when He tells Nicodemus in John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

Our third stop on this tour was to take a look at another very well known encounter as Jesus rested at Jacob’s Well and had an encounter with an outcast of outcasts, the Samaritan Woman. During this encounter Jesus gives her, and us, the truth about Himself, namely that He is the Messiah. This is the first time we have Jesus openly admitting this particular truth in Scripture and He does so with a statement that opens up with “Ego Eimi” or “I am”. Not only does Jesus reply to the woman in the affirmative regarding the fact that He is the Messiah foretold but He also clearly identifies Himself as God. Adding this to what He has already told her about He being the source of living water that provides everlasting life adn she is left with but one response, which John gives us in John 4:28–29 “So the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; is this not the Christ?””

Which brings us to our fourth encounter and again, this is an encounter with which we are likely all very familiar. Admittedly this would certainly not normally be a narrative which we discuss at Christmastime. The particular events of this story take place towards the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, in fact it is the final miracle recorded in the Gospel of John before the death and resurrection of Christ. It takes place close to Jerusalem and the encounter is mainly between Jesus and three of His friends, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Our text for this morning will come from John 11 and we will be reading verses 1-46 although we will narrow our focus down to just a few of the verses. In this passage of text we find what is known as the shortest verses in scripture but much more importantly we find another of the I am statements of Jesus, and this will be our focal point for the message today, which brings us to our text.

Text

Please stand in honor of the reading of the Holy, Inerrant, Sufficient and Authoritative Word of God

John 11:1–46 LSB

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said these things, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him.” The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be saved from his sickness.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of actual sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.” So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them about their brother. Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. “But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the One who comes into the world.” And when she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews—who were with her in the house and consoling her—when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to cry there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her crying, and the Jews who came with her also crying, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?” So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time he smells, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. “And I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the crowd standing around I said this, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Father, we thank You for Your Holy Word, for it’s principles, it’s promises, it’s directions, and it’s light. As we partake of Your Word this morning, may we learn more of Christ, remind us of how dear He is to us, by the washing of water with the Word. We are one with Him by faith according to Your Word. Lord we humbly ask that our hearts are form according to Your Word in the the image of Thy Son. Father, we pray that Your words are written on our hearts and inscribed upon our lips. We ask that you take full possession of our hearts, that you would reign supreme within us, grant us the strength to be attentive to our condition and character, let our speech be edifying, our hearts diligent, let us fleeing from temptation, let us mortify our sin, and let us be concerned about the salvation of other, for Your names sake and Your glory above all. Father we ask these things in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Context

Christmas is an unusual time of the year. At Christmas we sing and speak of joy and peace, hope and love, the world around us even joins in the celebration. The story of the birth of baby in a manger in a little town called Bethlehem is told far and wide, yet so many never truly understand why the birth of this one child, out of all of the children that have ever been born, ushers in these truths. It is for this reason that studying this text during the Christmas season should enrich our celebration and fill our hearts and lives with hope and joy reminding us of the love of God and the peace with God that Christ’s finished work on the cross brings to those who by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone are saved to the glory of God alone.

As we open up the text this morning we find Jesus in what John 10:40 describes as “And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.” In the writings of Josephus this is connected to the area or region of Perea. One of the main routes that a Jew would take from Jerusalem to Galilee in order to avoid Samaria would take them through the region of Samaria, if you looked at a map today, this would roughly be the country of Jordan. Depending upon exactly where Jesus was located within this region would make his journey anywhere from 8-15 hours of hard travel time to reach Bethany, which lie just outside of the city of Jerusalem, approximately 2 miles to the east.

Jesus is in this region teaching after another encounter with the Pharisees drove Him out of Jerusalem because of what they believed to be blasphemy because of Christ’s statements in the preceeding verses that close out chapter 10. A chapter, I might add, that continues to cause offense to this very day. Jesus already had the ire of the group up because He would refer to God as Father, something that the Jews had a profound issue with, but on top of that, His claim in verse 30, John 10:30 ““I and the Father are one.”” , drives them to begin to pick up stones for the purpose of carrying out the punishment required by the law for the sin of blasphemy.

These details are important as they frame the events that are about to transpire.

The Request

There are so many truths that are taught in this text that one could spend quite a bit of time focusing on just this one story and mining it for the rich teachings. This morning however, I want to narrow our focus down to three specific portions of the events that occured. The first of those is the request that is made and response of Jesus to that request. We will certainly make mention of several other things as we move through taking great care to be faithful to God’s Word.

John opens up the story by giving us the cast of characters that are involved, in verse one he writes, John 11:1 “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.” and then proceeds in verse two to help link the events of this chapter with the next chapter by letting us know that both the events we find in chapter 11 and the events that open chapter 12 occur with the same family. We also see these sisters in the 10th chapter of Luke’s gospel where we get a better picture of the personalities of the two sisters.

The news that Jesus receives is that His very dear friend is sick. Although it is not necessarily stated in scripture it is likely that the sisters sent for Jesus with the idea that since He had healed so many others, He could and would heal Lazarus. This is further proofed by the responses of both sisters that we will deal with in the text. Note the response of Jesus to this news, John 11:4 “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.””

As we walk through the life of Jesus as recorded for us in Scripture we should not miss the reason for all that Christ did and, unfortunately, it is not how most people would answer if asked why Jesus did what He did and our response generates a fundamental flaw in our understanding of God’s overarching plan and allows for some of the erroneous ideas that we are seeing being played out in the cultural group called “Christians”. We must take great care to understand the significance of the truth we find here in this verse as it helps to rightly align us to God’s purposes in all things.

There is no question, based on the clear teachings of Scripture, that Christ is God Incarnate, the Word made flesh, sent to bridge the chasm between God and His people caused by their sin. It is equally clear that God the Father out of His abundant love for His people sent His son to the cross for their sins, which results in the bridge of the chasm. It is also beyond question that scripture teaches that He is for our good, Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” BUT what we cannot miss from Jesus’ response here, and indeed His entire life and mission here among His people, is for the GLORY OF GOD!!

This, which is but one of many, examples literally demonstrates how misguided is our understanding of the love of Jesus. Ask yourself this question, what is the expected response to a similar situation in our lives? How do we expect people to respond when they hear that someone whom they deeply love is sick? How would we react if they didn’t respond according to our desires? The modern teaching of the love of Jesus places that above all things, even the glory of God. This is why we get our the crazy ideas about love that we see in society. Jesus’ response here clearly elevates God’s glory above His love for a friend. In fact, rightly understood, we know that this elevating of God’s Glory to this place is necessary when we TRULY love the way God loves us.

Notice the text, verse 5 goes on again to tell us that Jesus loved these people. So, verse 3 tells us He loved Lazarus and verse 5 repeats this assertion and includes Martha and Mary. Again, we should stand up and take note, scripture has repeated a truth to us. God wants us to know His love, how deeply it abides for His people, but He also wants us to understand, as much as we possibly can, that this love, although it is a deep and abiding love, is subservient to and resulting from His Glory. pay attention the transition at the opening of verse 6, John 11:6 “So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days in the place where He was.”

What we read here should be something that makes us sit up and take notice. When he head this news and because of the love He had for this family, He stayed two days. Let that sink in for a moment, how does that adjust your understanding of God’s love? How does it intersect with that world wants to believe about love in general and the love of God specifically. The church has done severe harm to the world by its mishandling of God’s love. Yes, absolutely, we need to proclaim the love of God, but we need to do so rightly and in full view of His glory!!

The Sisters

Again, there is so much in this passage to unpack and the next few verses (verses 7-16) are no exception. In brief, Jesus, at the end of the two days, tells the disciples it is time to return to Judea. They respond by reminding Him that the Jews in Jerusalem, just two miles west of Bethany, want Him dead. Jesus’ response to them clearly gives them the purpose of their return and lets them know that this is certainly more important than the threat of death that awaits. In fact, it is vitally important to the disciples themselves. In just a few short weeks they will be exposed to a different set of circumstances surrounding death, as the one they call Master will be brutally beaten and nailed to a cross.

We can’t pass this section without dealing specifically with verse 15, which I believe helps us understand what John says in verse 6. In verse 15 Jesus is still responding to the push back from the disciples regarding His decision to return to Judea and He tells them, John 11:15 “and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.””

Most of us here today have either asked or been asked or heard asked the question of why. Why did God allow this, or do that? The simple, and always right answer, of course is, for His glory and good pleasure. The reality, however, is that this is a extremely hard statement for people to hear and even more so to comprehend, especially if they are not born again. Jesus, certainly could have responded to the disciples completely in this manner, but instead He wanted them to understand that even in the midst of difficult circumstances, trials, difficulties, all of the moments where we or someone else asks or wants to ask why, that even though we may never fully understand His purpose and His plan, what we can know, as His people, is that it is ultimately for His glory, yes, but also for our good.

In this specific story, Jesus is glad that the disciples were not present when Lazarus died, but why? I believe that there are a couple of reasons, one of which I am absolutely certain based on the textual evidence from this story. The one I am most certain of is that of the question of the reality of the miracle that they are about to witness, more on that in a few moments. I also believe that the events that they are about to witness provided them, event though they would not truly understand the significance until after the resurrection of Christ, both encouragement and strengthening of their faith, and a reminder of the true power of the living God as they would go through extremely trying times in the years ahead. There is one other observation that I would make, and this comes from life experience, what would the damage to their faith had been if Lazarus has still died and they were present. They knew that Jesus had the power to heal, in fact they had even witnessed the power of resurrection before, but how big of a blow would it be to watch Jesus allow someone whom He loved to die, as He was standing by their side.

Finally, Jesus arrives in Bethany, and the first thing that John tells us regarding His arrival there was that Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. Jewish Rabbinic tradition taught that the spirit hovered around the body for approximately 3 days before finally being called away and so John ensures that people know that Lazarus is dead, or in the words of the governor of munchkin land, “really, most sincerely dead”.

In the culture of the time, when someone died the mourners would spend the first 7 days after their death with the family to comfort, console, and help them in their time of need which is why John mentions here in verse 19 that many Jews had come to Bethany. It is also likely, with the use of the word many, that this family was one of some influence and wealth (also remember the expensive bottle of perfume that Mary would use) and it is likely that John brings these Jews up also as a support for why it would have been dangerous for Jesus to travel to Bethany. John sets the stage for the entry of the older, more practical and bustling sister, Martha.

The interaction between the two sisters in this passage focuses primarily on the interaction between Jesus and Martha. Mary’s encounter is briefly mentioned, but it is confined in John’s account to her actions and what she says to Jesus, which is also what Martha says when she approaches in verse 21, John 11:21 “Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Some have interpreted this to be an accusatory statement but the original text doesn’t support that and the conversation that follows supports that it was not. It was merely a statement of fact followed up by an affirmation of the recognition of the unique relationship between Jesus and God.

The conversation we are privy too is such an amazing conversation and a reminder to us. Again, we need to remember that these are people whom Jesus loved. A family He had likely spent sometime with and yet, He forces a confrontation of sorts that demands a response. He begins by stating that Lazarus will be raised, to which she responds, demonstrating her knowledge and understanding, that she knew he would be resurrected on the last day. The Old Testament clearly teaches of a coming resurrection on the last day. Passages like Job 19:25–27 ““As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God, Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!” and Daniel 12:2 ““And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to reproach and everlasting contempt.” among others. On this day, however, Jesus was calling her to something deeper.

This brings us to the fifth of the seven I AM statements with descriptors found in the Gospel of John. Jesus replies to Martha’s assertion that she knew Lazarus would rise again with a powerful statement. “I AM the resurrection and the life and before we look at the rest of His response we need to understand the impact of this statement. First, as we discussed last week regarding Jesus’ I am statement to the woman at the well, this is a proclamation of His deity and not just any proclamation. This would have recalled any Jew’s minds back to the words of God to Moses and have immediately solidified that Jesus was, in fact, stating that He was the great I AM. This I AM is modified by two words, resurrection and life, demonstrating the power of God over life and death. If you will remember back to our study through Exodus the tenth and final plaque was to demonstrate to Pharoah and all of Egypt that God alone held true power over life and death as He rebutted the Gods of Egypt. Here, just outside of the village of Bethany, where Martha’s brother lay dead in his tomb for four days, Jesus proclaims this same truth, this same power.

He then adds to this two statements. It is necessary that we understand that this is not a repetition of the same phrase. The first clause “he who believes in me will live even if he dies” refers to the physical resurrection that will occur on the last day. Scripture teaches a bodily resurrection of all, some to honor and others to dishonor. The second clause, “everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die - ever.” refers purely to spiritual life. The reality that we will never again be spiritually dead because dead things are brought to life by faith in Christ through the grace of God.

Jesus then asks Martha a very important question. Do you believe this? Nothing more, do you believe this…Martha, do you believe that I am the resurrection and the life, do you believe that any one who has faith in Me will live though he dies and in truth shall never die spiritually? Martha, do you believe that I am not just the Son of God, but God Himself in the flesh? A question that demands a response, oh, that our response would mirror that of Martha’s

John 11:27 “She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, the One who comes into the world.”” In this simple confessional statement Martha makes three specific assertions regarding Jesus:

That he is the Christ, the Messiah, like Andrew before her in John 1:41

That He is the very Son of God, like John the Baptistin John 1:34, Nathanael in John 1:49 and the Disciples in Matthew 14:33

That He is the one who was to come into the world, the deliverer foretold since the Garden.

Her response demonstrates that she does indeed believe, do you?

The Rest

Next week we will conclude with the remainder of this encounter as we conclude our Christmas series.

The Conclusion

Conclusion

As we close, let us reflect on what we have uncovered throughout this season. Christmas is far more than a festive celebration or a time to gather with family and exchange gifts. It is a powerful reminder of the incarnation of Christ—God Himself stepping into His creation to reconcile His people to Himself. Through our journey, we have seen Jesus not merely as a baby in a manger but as the Savior who transforms lives, as the Word made flesh who brings salvation, as the living water who satisfies every thirst, and as the resurrection and the life who conquers death itself.

Each encounter with Jesus we’ve studied reveals profound truths about who He is and what He accomplishes. From Simeon, who saw salvation in the Christ child, to Nicodemus, who learned the necessity of being born again by the Spirit, to the Samaritan woman, who proclaimed the Messiah after meeting Him at the well, and this morning to Martha, who confessed her faith in Jesus—even in her grief.

The question that Jesus asked Martha, “Do you believe this?” is one that He asks of each of us today. Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Do you trust that He alone has the power to bring eternal life and reconcile you to God? This is the ultimate question of Christmas and of life itself.

If your answer is yes, then I urge you to let this truth transform your life. Like the Samaritan woman who left her water jar behind to share the good news, or like Martha who boldly proclaimed her faith in Jesus, we are called to respond. Let the glory of God revealed in Christ compel you to worship Him, to share His love with others, and to live for His purposes.

The call is clear, and the question demands a response. Let us go forth, not just as people who celebrate Christmas but as people transformed by Christ, ready to share His truth and love with a world desperately in need of both.

Amen.